NIGERIA: 183 Die As Meningitis Spreads To 24 States

Nigeria has recorded 183 deaths and 287 confirmed cases of cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) in 130 Local Government Areas across 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 10 months.

According to the epidemiological report of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), 2,707 suspected cases with a case-fatality ratio of 6.8 per cent were reported in 24 states from October 2022 to July 2, 2023.

The States with the suspected cases of meningitis include; Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

The report said that the number of new suspected cases in the current Epi week 26 decreased by 80 per cent compared to the previous week.

The report read partly that as of July 2, “A total of 2,707 suspected cases including 183 deaths have been reported from 24 states in this 2022/2023 CSM season. A total of 667 samples collected (25 per cent) from 2,707 suspected cases from beginning of the outbreak, and 298 confirmed (45 per cent positivity rate).

“The five to 14-year-old age group was the most affected. 54 per cent of the total suspected cases were Males. 98 percent of all suspected cases were from six (10) states – Jigawa (1508 cases), Yobe (654 cases), Katsina (177 cases), Bauchi (123 cases), Zamfara (53 cases), Adamawa (45 cases), Gombe (26 cases), Kano (10 cases) and Sokoto (10 cases).

“Nineteen LGAs across five states, Jigawa (10), Katsina (4), Yobe (2), Bauchi (2) and Zamfara (1), reported more than 20 cases each this 2022/2023 CSM season.”

The NCDC and its partners, however, said it will continue to support affected states with outbreak response.

Cerebrospinal Meningitis is an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It can be fatal if left untreated. Injuries, cancer, certain drugs, and other types of infections also can cause meningitis.

Symptoms of Megningtis include: fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting and light sensitivity.